Most good coaches will tell their players and the media that a game’s outcome is never determined by the officiating.
While this is often the case, there are rare exceptions: a last-second botched call or a swing in momentum that can be traced to the final result of the game.
In the case of the No. 11 MSU men’s basketball team’s two upset losses this season — a 43-36 loss at Iowa on Jan. 12 and a 85-76 loss at Penn State on Saturday — the discrepancy between the fouls called against the Spartans and the home team have been astounding, to say the least.
The result? Four MSU free throw attempts compared to 29 for the Hawkeyes and a by-far season-high 51 attempts from the charity stripe for the Nittany Lions last week (thanks to 31 MSU fouls, resulting in four Spartans fouling out).
And don’t forget the two glaring upset losses on a schedule that’s hard enough for a team expected to vie for a conference championship.
At his weekly news conference on Monday, MSU head coach Tom Izzo joked about the free throw circumstances, saying, “You can’t defend that shot. The NCAA has made that illegal.”
It really isn’t funny, though. Izzo has told his players and the media that one of the main ways upsets occur is from the free-throw line because it hurts an MSU player with a foul and gives an opposing player a chance to score without contest.
Izzo also said sometimes he’d like to see his players foul more — or at least get their money’s worth.
And he’s the first to admit that it’s not the toughest, banging team that he’s had and they’re playing in a Big Ten conference where games aren’t always played the way they’re known for.
After the Penn State game, Izzo couldn’t help but revere a team that’s often hated and has a target on his back like Izzo aspires for — Duke.
Duke always finds a way to win, Izzo said. And it’s true. I turn on a Duke game and they might be trailing a lesser foe by a few points, but I always say to myself, “Get back to me with thirty seconds left” or “It doesn’t matter; they’ll pull it out.”
That’s what Izzo wants to see from his team.
“It’s OK to play bad,” Izzo said. “It’s going to happen. But the great teams find a way to win and that’s the part you have to learn to deal with — either make the free throw, the layup or the block.
“You’ve got to find a way to win it and we didn’t find a way to win it and that’s bothersome to me.”
The first step in fixing a problem is realizing you have one.
In games where they may not be favored or they may find themselves facing a bit of adversity, the Spartans need to find a way to win. It’s what great teams — not teams that come within a what-if of a Big Ten title — do.
Joey Nowak is a State News men’s basketball reporter. Reach him at nowakjo2@msu.edu.
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